


Springtime in the Case (Or Percival's Terrible Not Good Day)

by flightinflame



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Baby Animals, Cinnamon Roll Newt Scamander, Gen, Living in Newt Scamander's Suitcase, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Original Percival Graves is a Softie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 08:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13027596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: When Newt doesn't return from an excursion into the case, Percival fears the worst. What he finds is a multitude of small creatures, and one diricrawl that seems to have taken a liking to his pocket.





	Springtime in the Case (Or Percival's Terrible Not Good Day)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Elenothar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elenothar/gifts).



Newt had been behaving oddly the last few days. 

Percival shook his head, took a fortifying gulp of coffee and reconsidered that particular thought: Newt had been acting oddly-for-Newt the past few days. Newt was normally energised by time in his case, and happy for Percival to come and check on everyone, but he seemed exhausted, and had banned Percival from entering.

Newt ventured out only to get food, and a lot of it. Percival wondered if Newt was stockpiling it, and if so he had to worry about why. That, or whatever else he had in there, it had a big appetite.

The first couple of days, Percival had been willing to let it slide. The bed was cold, but they both sometimes had work to do, and he knew that Newt's creatures would always come first. It was something he had accepted since they had first became friends, and then more. Now, Percival had been part of Newt's life for almost a year - at least when Newt was in the country. Newt was dedicated to his work, passionate, driven - but not like this.

Realising Newt hadn't emerged from his case for over thirty hours was the final straw for Percival - a sign that really, Newt needed his help. Newt could be ill, or one of the creatures might have attacked him - _She's only a baby nundu Perce, she couldn't do any real harm unless she bit me or I wasn't able to get to fresh air_.

Percival picked up his wand, setting up a charm that would alert Picquery if he didn't return within two hours, and opened the suitcase. Climbing down, he felt anxiety gnawing at his insides. He didn't know what he expected to find. He glanced at the books that lined Newt's shed - there was information that he might need here, if Newt was sick, but he had no idea how the books were arranged. He regretted not asking before.

Everything within the shed seemed to be normal. Which wasn't entirely reassuring - Newt wasn't here. He tried to block the images that floated in his mind from the war, of what he had seen, the sights that had left grown men shattered. Newt needed him now. He couldn't let his terror win.

He pushed open the door to the shed, and was greeted by the world his lover was so at home in. The pair of giant scarab beetles rolled the waste they had collected across the floor, followed by a trio of smaller beetles, each the size of a cat.

Percival frowned a little. Those beetles might have been a new addition to the case, but even for things Newt kept they didn't look particularly dangerous. In fact, Newt would probably describe them as 'boring'. Percival had a lot of fondness for creatures Newt said were boring, as they tended not to try to eat him.

He continued on. The case was large, but he knew where the priorities were - he raced across to the obscurus, relieved to find that she was still floating within her bubble. The nundu similarly seemed calm enough, only puffing her throat slightly as Percival approached. The relief that swept through Percival to find that Newt wasn't lying broken on the floor of her space left him reeling, and he staggered backwards a little.

He continued to search the case. He thought of the second shelter that Newt had - one he used for storage mostly, but it might be somewhere he could rest. But that too was empty.

A movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he saw that several of the bowtruckles were sporting growths of small flowers across the top of their stalks, and all of them were standing on the same branch. He frowned slightly, but left them in peace, jumping as a sudden weight appeared in his coat pocket.

Automatically, he reached his hand in to see what was inside, and was rewarded by the angry snapping of a sharp beak. He withdrew his fingers, and stared down at the diricrawl which was glaring back at him.  
"Out,." hHe ordered, with the authority that would make a junior auror quake. The bird merely looked down, snuggling deeper into his pocket.

Percival considered his options, and decided that finding Newt was of greater priority than evicting a frankly ludicrous pigeon. With that in mind, he continued on deeper into the case, looking around for Newt as he went. The occamy reared up as he approached, their head crests back in an expression of disapproval. He wondered if they were blaming him for Newt's absence. It would be just his luck if they were - he was pretty sure most of the creatures only tolerated him because he made Newt happy. Which was fine, as long as he did just that. If Newt was upset at him, Percival was fully expecting all hell to break loose as the creatures rapidly altered their attitude towards him.

Giving the occamy nest a wide berth, he made his way to the runespoor cave. The juvenile made its way over to greet him, the smallest head still imprisoned within the cone Newt had given her to stop her biting her own tail.  
"Hello Ouro..." he greeted her, tickling each of the heads in turn. The creature nipped at his fingers. "Have you seen Newt anywhere?"   
Percival frowned a little as he stopped speaking. He was talking to the creatures - just like Newt. He shook his head, and walked on, surprised that Ouro's mother wasn't coming to greet him - she was normally fairly friendly, but today he could just catch a glimpse of her large scales in the back of the cave. 

Still no Newt. So he walked on - managing not to jump as Dougal faded into visibility beside him.   
"Hey there..." Percival greeted him, and at least the demiguise did seem to understand English, so he felt less foolish for talking to him. "Have you seen Newt?"  
The demiguise's eyes turned a vivid blue for a second, before he reached up for Percival's hand. Percival let Dougal lead him over to Frank's enclosure. Percival drew his wand, seeing the thunderbird leaning over Newt's form.  
"Newt?" Percival called out, approaching carefully. Frank backed away, moving to fly overhead. Percival hurried over, to see Newt wasn't visibly injured, his eyes closed. He reached out to stroke Newt's arm, and Newt blinked up at him.  
"Percival?"  
"I hadn't seen you for over a day," Percival explained. "I thought you might be injured. Is anything wrong?"  
"No," Newt answered with a yawn. "I was just... just grabbing a few minutes rest. That's all."

Percival raised an eyebrow, and Newt had the decency to look a little ashamed, ducking his head and yawning again.  
"It's pretty full on here," Newt explained.  
"You have a new creature?" Percival queried. "You've been hoarding food again."  
"Not... not a new creature," Newt's voice was a little hesitant. "I have several new creatures."  
"And you were sleeping in Frank's cage because?"  
"It's an enclosure," Newt muttered defensively. "And because I've been working on introducing him to Sophie."  
"Sophie?" Percival prepared to see something with far too many teeth. 

Newt's response was to reach into his pocket, pulling out a small, scrawny bird with an oversized beak with a sharp curve.   
"I found her egg in a market, they were saying she was a dragon."  
"She's not a dragon."  
"She's a thunderbird," Newt informed him, and a closer look revealed that what he had initially mistaken for one pair of wings was actually three sets of stubby wings tucked against her back.  
"I see. So why have you been hiding?"  
"I wasn't hiding!" Newt protested. "I was just helping Frank get used to Sophie, and then I was looking after the other new arrivals."

Percival pressed his lips together, waiting for further information Newt shot a brilliant smile at him, but didn't immediately answer. Eventually, he shrugged a little.  
"Well, there's five new runespoor hatchlings, they're with the mother, I think I've successfully enchanted them to ensure they don't eat each other, but I will have to check. There are three new mooncalves, the bowtruckles are blossoming and will have seedlings in the next few days. The female graphhorn is pregnant, the fwooper's laid three clutches of eggs and the diricrawl mother is looking for a nest site." 

Percival decided now wasn't the time to comment about the extra weight in his pocket. He nodded slowly, looking at Newt.  
"And the niffler?"

One niffler caused enough trouble - he would regularly escape and go on a rampage through MACUSA. The problem (Newt said) was that he believed it was a game, and thought that he was being helpful by giving them something to do. Percival suspected that actually, the problem was that Newt was rather too indulgent of the small ball of fur. Percival didn't want to consider the chaos that would be unleashed if more than one niffler escaped.  
"The niffler is fine, he's a little disappointed he didn't find a mate this year," Newt supplied, before sighing. "Hopefully, by this time next year..."

Percival held up a hand, stopping Newt from finishing that particular thought.   
"And Pickett?"  
"Pickett apparently wanted to stay with me," Newt answered, tilting his head towards the pocket of his shirt. Frank walked closer, clicking his beak at Sophie, and after a moment she returned the noise. Newt smiled proudly, and placed her down.

"I didn't mean to disappear for so long," Newt admitted. "It was going well, until one of the mooncalf births was difficult, and then Sophie started to hatch - and really while I knew she wasn't a dragon, I wasn't entirely convinced about what she was. Then when I found out, I needed to introduce her to Frank as soon as possible to try and ensure she imprinted on him, and then..." Newt punctuated his words with a yawn. "I thought a brief nap might be a good idea."

Percival hid his smile, embracing Newt briefly.  
"You want to introduce me to everyone then?"

"I haven't named them all yet."  
"That's alright," Percival promised. "Just show me."  
Newt guided Percival through the cage, stopping at almost every enclosure to point out a new life of some kind nestled within - be it the new mooncalves, already bouncing around the case supported by the rest of the herd, or the mass of young runespoors that the mother snake was guarding. 

Seeing Newt lighting up with joy showed Percival just how much his lover enjoyed looking after the creatures, and helped put at rest some of his concerns. 

Newt paused, once the exploration of the case had been completed.  
"I can't find the mother diricrawl."  
"She's in my pocket," Percival admitted. "She just popped into there, and seemed cosy."

Newt pressed his lips together in an attempt to hide a smile, and Percival braced himself for bad news.  
"What?" he asked.

"Congratulations," Newt answered. "She's going to be staying there for the next two days, until her babies hatch."  
"Get rid of her?"  
"I can't," Newt answered with a smile.  
"I'll just take the coat off then."  
"You can't do that," Newt protested. "She's chosen that spot because it's the right temperature."

Percival looked Newt in the eye.  
"So what you are telling me is that over the next few days, I have to walk around wearing a coat with a pocket full of a bird, to make sure its chicks hatch?"  
"Exactly," Newt confirmed, and he did it with such insistence that Percival already knew he would agree. He just hoped he didn't have to explain it to Seraphina.

As though knowing what he was thinking, Newt leaned in and kissed his cheek.  
"Heroic men protecting creatures are very admirable," Newt explained, and Percival kissed him softly.  
"You still need to rest."  
"I know," Newt agreed. "If I give you Sophie, you can watch how she and Frank get on and I'll check on the runespoors, then we can grab a quick nap."  
"What am I meant to do if they don't get along?" Percival asked.

"Get them apart quickly," came Newt's answer, but his words were accompanied by a bright smile.  
"I don't think it'll be a problem. They are good creatures and Frank is remarkably intelligent. The main concern is Sophie deciding to bite him."   
Percival nodded and Newt handed over the chick. Percival felt his pocket wriggle slightly in disapproval, but decided to ignore that for now. He was fast reaching the end of what could be described as acceptable behaviour, but Newt didn't mind. At that, Newt apparated to the other side of the case, leaving Percival with a multitude of creatures to care for.

With a shake of his head and a sigh, Percival got to work.

****

As a Graves, Percival had been brought up to have a certain degree of self respect, and a certain bearing. He was expected to consider himself important, and to act as though whatever he was doing was simply right.

Part of what he loved about Newt was how utterly oblivious the other man was to such posturing - he liked Percival for who he was, and never asked for anything from him. But right now, Percival was drawing on all his training, staring at Picquery as though she was the one behaving strangely.

Seraphina was having none of it.  
"Percival. Why do you have a bird in your pocket?"  
"Like I said ma'am, she's laid several eggs, and our creature expert advised against moving her. So for now, she stays with me."

"Scamander has been a terrible influence," Seraphina informed him, taking another sip of her coffee. "And I suppose I am expected to just carry on as normal with her staring at me?"  
"Apparently," Percival agreed with a sigh, flexing fingers that had been nipped by juvenile runespoors. "That's what I'm trying to do."


End file.
